Broadband Mapping and Data

GAO Wants Easier Coverage Challenges at FCC, More Detail on Long-term BEAD Monitoring

USDA officials said a $4.6 billion telecom loan program was largely unallocated, but they expected more interest as grant funding dried up

Jake Neenan

Sep 1, 2026 — 4 min read

Photo of Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, center, at the Capitol on Tuesday by J. Scott Applewhite/AP

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2026 – The Government Accountability Office wants two federal agencies to improve broadband coverage mapping and grant-funded project monitoring.

GAO said in a Monday report that the agencies, the Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration, agreed with its recommendations.

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Broadband Mapping and Data GAO Eduard Bartholme Andy Harris John Hoeven Andrew Von Ah USDA BEAD

Chad Johnston: After 26 Years Building Fiber Networks, Here's How My Thinking Has Changed

A fiber veteran argues there's no single right architecture. Rising costs and scarce labor mean operators should design for long-term flexibility, not habit.

GCI Expands 5G to 9 More Southeast Alaska Towns

GCI has expanded 5G service to nine more Southeast Alaska communities, boosting mobile connectivity across the region.

Former FCC Republican Michael O’Rielly Supports Ending E-Rate ‘If Is Is Hurting Students’

“If E-Rate is not delivering, or worse, if it is hurting students, then it should be curtailed or ended,” O’Rielly says, adding the FCC has the legal authority to pursue reforms.